Overseas projects finance by international institutions for Japanese construction firms

Abstract

This thesis analyzes the relationships between Japanese construction firms, and overseas projects financed by international institutions, such as the World Bank Group, United Nations, ADB, IDB, JBIC, and JICA. Japanese construction firms have as large revenues as other international construction firms in the world. However, the scale of overseas business is quite small compared to that of their domestic activities. Today firms in the Japanese construction industry suffer from the shrinking Japanese construction market. To survive in the future, exploring overseas construction markets is an option for Japanese construction firms. To expand their business overseas, Japanese construction firms should explore the possibilities of increasing contracts financed by international institutions, because payments and contracts for these projects are more secure than those of other financing sources, such as governments of developing countries. As the first step in increasing overseas revenues, projects financed by international institutions become appropriate starts for Japanese construction firms. On the other hand, today the Japanese government is one of the largest sponsors of international institutions. It contributes substantial funds to multilateral financing institutions as well as to Japanese bilateral financing institutions. The government has made extensive contributions to constructing projects in developing countries through these international institutions. However, the number of projects awarded to Japanese construction firms from these international institutions has been extremely small, compared to the substantial contributions made by the Japanese government to those countries.

(cont.) In this paper, we study the current tendencies of international institutions, analyzing data of projects they finance. By analyzing these data, we can determine the identity of major players as well as the position of Japanese construction firms in these markets. Based on these analyses, we also discuss how Japanese construction firms may increase their international business in the future.